Thursday, December 08, 2011

12 Days of Resolutions. 12 resolutions that will help steer you towards a healthier lifestyle, whether you've got weight you'd like to lose or not. 12 resolutions that are each in and of themselves extremely straight forward and doable. Some might involve doing, others simply thinking, and if any of them don't seem useful to you, skip on to the next.

Day 4: Reclaim Your Table

I know you have one. You might even have two. A dining room version and a kitchen version.

But do you use them?

Most of us (sadly me included many nights), pile up our plates and head to the living room. It's a practice we all ought to stop, and assuming my wife's in agreement, this one's a resolution for us as well. We're going to rediscover our table, maybe not every night, but certainly some and maybe many.

If you live alone, eating at the table will allow you to pay attention to your food and actually enjoy your bites rather than just mindless chewing (and if the bites aren't as enjoyable as you'd like, that might be a cue for you to try some new dishes). Turn on some of your favourite music, reflect on your day, and savour your meal. If you're trying to lose or maintain your weight, eating mindfully might allow you to get away with smaller portions than those you'd have plated for your televised meal.

If you live with adult loved ones or roommates, eating at the table will allow you to share your days, and spend a few moments of quality time in a world that has too few.

If you live with children, eating at the table will first and foremost teach them that families eat at tables, but has also been shown to be correlated with a healthier diet for the children, lesser body weights, and decreased adolescent acting out type behaviours.

Don't let your kitchen table just be a place to pile stuff up.

This year resolve to reclaim your table and stake your dietary flag in as often as you possibly can.

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About Me

Family doc, Assistant Prof. at the University of Ottawa, Author of The Diet Fix, and founder of Ottawa's non-surgical Bariatric Medical Institute - a multi-disciplinary, ethical, evidence-based nutrition and weight management centre. Nowadays I'm more likely to stop drugs than start them. You can also find me on Twitter and Facebook.

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